Pine Forest Range keeps moving ahead

Nevadans can celebrate today, as a bill made by them, for them, took another step toward becoming a sure thing.

The Pine Forest Range Recreation Enhancement Act of 2013 Pine Forest Range Recreation Enhancement Act of 2013 was folded into a package of bills dubbed the Northern Nevada Land Conservation and Economic Development Act.

While there were some last minute changes that left conservationists concerned, the major point to take away was that no other wilderness related bill has gone this far in Congress in recent years.

In fact, the previous Congress was the first not to pass any wilderness legislation since 1966.

“The momentum this bill has speaks to the cooperation between stakeholders and their willingness to find solutions when it comes to land management,” said Trout Unlimited’s Jim Jeffress in a release put out by the stakeholders involved in the process. “Having a wilderness component has been a non starter in recent years. But this process was issue driven and because of the work from the people on the ground, we have a sound bill worth passing that will remedy issues that have been evident since the inception of the Wilderness Study Areas in question.”